The present invention relates to methods and systems for conducting trade studies. In particular, the present invention relates to methods and systems of conducting trade studies to compare alternative candidate designs, concepts, or ideas and to support decisions regarding the alternative candidates.
Trade studies are techniques used to provide support for decision making tasks in a variety of applications, such as design optimizations, marketing efforts, product characteristics, and economic qualities. For example, prior to launching a product, a company may conduct a trade study with test customers to evaluate which of multiple candidate products are preferred. The trade study allows the company to identify a preferred product, thereby reducing costs and increasing assurance of consumer acceptance of the preferred product.
Trade studies typically involve evaluating alternative candidates based on identified criteria, and then comparing the evaluated criteria to prioritize the alternative candidates (e.g., selecting an optimal candidate based on the evaluated criteria). This provides a level of assurance to the decision maker that the choice between the alternative candidates was made based on objective data.
A common issue with trade studies is the large volumes of complex data used during the evaluation process. A given trade study may, for example, include twenty alternative candidates to compare, and fifteen evaluation criteria to apply to each alternative candidate. This may result in calculation errors and/or an undesired reduction in the number of important evaluation criteria, which can produce errors in the overall study.
Another issue with trade studies is the inclusion of user bias in the evaluation of the alternative candidates. User bias tends to reduce the objectivity and balanced nature of the trade studies in question, thereby reducing the objectiveness of the trade study results. This accordingly may reduce the reliability of such studies when used to support decisions between alternative candidates.